Ya know, people talk about the slower speeds as if it were 5 min here, and 15 min there per trip, and that's certainly true. However - don't discount that this adds up in terms of hours flown, hours on engine, prop, airframe, fuel burned, etc.
Sure, the Sierra is only 15 min more on a 240NM round trip over the Bonanza at 155kts, but if you do that same trip four times, you just put another hour on the plane. It's a matter of efficiency, and the Sierra and Mouse just aren't efficient. Over the life of the engine, that means you are burning another 10 gallons in your four trip example, you are putting on another hour of tach time, and another hour of hobbs.
Efficiency matters, and that's why I've never developed much love for the baby Beech. That extra time and fuel could be better spent on a more efficient plane, whether it is the Bo, or Mooney M20, or maybe a Cardinal RG(although I've been told they aren't much better). I say, if you're gonna pull the wheels up, might as well go for the smoothest thing out there, and deal with the same basic mx while using less fuel, time, and mx based hours.
YMMV, things are closer than they appear, don't try this at home, pro driver on a closed course, and settling may have occurred.
